Whelen 994 restoration

ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
I've got the 994 internals on the way (thanks John!), so the restoration process has begun. First I removed the SVP light and "custom" brackets and pulled the base from the, uh, other base. I gave the cast aluminum base a quick wash with Dawn, but it obviously needs more attention. PineSol used to be my goto for cleaning aluminum; soak all filthy parts in a tub of water with a very heavy dose of PineSol for a week and most everything came out looking new or nearly so. But sometime in the last decade the makers of PineSol changed the formula and it's nowhere near the same product anymore, unfortunately. And I have yet to find any aluminum safe alternative that's anywhere near as effective as the old PineSol... Anyway, I think PineSol would've gotten the base pretty clean, but it needs more than just that. I'm guessing diluted muriatic acid? Or maybe something a little less aggressive, like sulfuric or phosphoric acid? I'd like to remove the iron oxide stains and whatever else has made its home on the base, and to get a nice and even appearance all the way around. 20220709_123019.jpg20220709_123117.jpg
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
An aluminum specific cleaner is often required for these cast bases. I don't like buffing/scrubbing too hard because of the texture being part of the design of the base. There are several aluminum specific cleaners that you can get that are non-abrasive, I don't have a brand recommendation. I love this project because it is taking a light that was both neglected and retrofitted and restoring it back to the original setup. The guts I sent are made possible by me doing the exact opposite, and desiccating a 99 series light by replacing the internals with a rota-beam LED. You guys are going to either love or hate my project, this one should be easy to love for collectors of all kinds. Please keep us updated.
 
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Jun 18, 2013
3,709
PA
You might be able to get a good head start on this, by using some PB blaster and a brass brush to get rid of the Rust spots. Then follow it up with some Simple Green.
 

ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
So I gave the dome a bath and gently washed it with Dawn, then followed up with a Magic Eraser on the outside, and another wash. Got rid of most of the environmental contamination, but also exposed damage that the single stationary high-wattage bulb in the SVP light assembly caused. There are brownish streaks radiating out from the center of the dome's top, and some very fine crazing of the pastic in that area. Luckily it did not outright melt the plastic, but it is obviously a little compromised, so I will take extra care not to damage it. I'm not overly concerned about it, and nobody buys a beacon to stare at the top of it anyway! The rest of the dome is is good physical condition, save for the frosted/sandblasted outer surface. I have plenty of wet sanding paper from 800 through 3000 grit, and I'll probably start on that phase tonight. Tomorrow I'll hit up Lowe's for some aluminum cleaner, and I'll dig out the Flitz polish for the band. Unfortunately there's no longer a label attached to the band, but I'm not heartbroken about it.

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ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
John, your project sounds cool! I know nothing about LED Rotabeams, but I'm hoping they make them in Trio flavor, and that you were able to cobble together enough modules to do the size of the beacon justice!
 

JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
John, your project sounds cool! I know nothing about LED Rotabeams, but I'm hoping they make them in Trio flavor, and that you were able to cobble together enough modules to do the size of the beacon justice!
Your dome is coming along. Can't wait to see it after wet sanding.

I think my biggest problem with project is the size of the rota-beam LED unit.... I hadn't considered using syched units from a freedom or 4500 and making a bigger internal unit.
 

ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
So the only aluminum brightener I could find locally was at NAPA, so I had a bottle of it delivered to the shop today. After the internals arrived (thanks again John!) I got to work cleaning the base up. First I gave it another bath with Dawn, but this time I gently scrubbed it with a green Scotchbrite pad. It was a little cleaner, but not much. Trying the cleaner, at first I was completely disappointed. It was doing almost nothing. I went at it with the stiffest acid brush I have, and the cleaner started reacting with the aluminum, but not much was happening. Then I noticed the cleaner would just run right off the oxidized aluminum, so I stepped up to a stainless steel brush and went to work on the oxidization. The photos below are after 6 or 7 rounds of cleaner and work with the brushes and even some 800 grit here and there. I got a little carried away with the sandpaper in a couple of spots on the outside of the base and they're a little shinier than the surrounding areas and not as textured, not a huge deal, but I think I'll take it over and get it glass or bead blasted to restore an even surface on the outside. We'll see. I'm waiting for my little boy to go to bed before I start working on the dome, but I should have progress pics of that later tonight.

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ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
Well I finally got around to wet sanding the dome this evening. The 1000 and 1200 grit took off this nasty tan sludge that really looked like polishing compound. It wasn't until the 2000 grit when the stuff coming off was a more normal white color. I still need go get new pads for my mini buffer, but here's what it looks like now - not much different, perhaps looking a bit lighter in color due to the sanding:

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I couldn't find my 3000 grit paper, so I'll pick some more of that up tomorrow when I go searching for my buffer pads. Who knows; maybe I'll have a nicely polished dome to show off tomorrow night!
 

ur20v

Member
Feb 3, 2017
571
Northern Virginia
Well, better late than never. I *FINALLY* got around to polishing the dome after wet sanding it over four months ago. I brought our the trusty ol' corded drill and a Mother's Pow'rBall, and shook up an old bottle of Meguiar's #105 Ultra Cut compound. Cleaned the inside with Plexus and washed and sanded the band. While it came out alright, I'm not completely happy with the results, so I may do some more polishing with some other compounds I have, including PlastX. When I turned the light on I was very disappointed to see very fine hologram crazing and a pattern in the plastic. It looks like someone used a flat buffing wheel on a vertical bench grinder to polish it in the past, so I'm guessing it will never be 100% perfect.

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JohnMarcson

Administrator
May 7, 2010
10,971
Northwest Ohio
That cleaned up well. I am impressed.
 
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